A third strategic meeting was held at Samarkand State Technical University, dedicated to developing strategic cooperation between Uzbekistan and China in technical and vocational education and training (TVET), within WorldSkills International initiatives.
In talks between the university's leadership and Mr. Zhanhuan Bai (Kendall), representative of the WorldSkills Invitational Competition, president of Shenzhen Future Creative Design Ltd. and sponsor of the cooperation, the parties agreed to further develop their cooperation in the following areas:
— introducing WorldSkills engineering and design technologies into Uzbekistan's education system;
— creating joint training centres and international programmes;
— launching student-exchange and joint academic programmes;
— developing professional standards and a teacher-qualification system.
It was decided that, as a first stage, training rooms would be set up for the following six WorldSkills disciplines:
— Mechatronics — automation and control systems;
— Electronics — circuit design, soldering and testing laboratories;
— Mechanical Engineering CAD — digital drafting and 3D-modelling workstations;
— Industrial Design Technology — design thinking, prototyping and innovation labs;
— Graphic Design Technology — creative design and digital-media education;
— Robot Systems Integration — robotics, programming and automation integration.
The initiative to set up Central Asia's first “WorldSkills Academy: Industry Design Technology Training Center” in Samarkand was also put forward. The Chinese side will provide the full list of equipment for the centre, while Uzbekistan will prepare the building and infrastructure.
